Maverick Fountain Valley City Councilman Mark McCurdy shocked the city and colleagues Monday, Jan. 15, when he announced his resignation from the city governing body in a tersely worded letter to Rob Houston, city manager.

Fountain Valley City Councilman Mark McCurdy announced his resignation.

In part, the letter read, “At this time, I find it necessary to secure employment outside the area, and having no other option, to effective immediately, step down from my position serving on the City Council.

“It has been an honor to serve the citizens of Fountain Valley and, for that I will always be grateful.”

Houston said he was surprised to receive the letter Monday morning as he had not talked to McCurdy about the possibility beforehand.

Houston said he and members of the council would discuss the matter at their regular Tuesday meeting Jan. 16 before deciding on a course of action.

It is unclear whether the city will appoint someone to fill the position on an interim basis, stage a special election or leave the post vacant until the general election in November.

City Attorney Colin Burns was unavailable for comment.

McCurdy was not immediately available for comment, but his rocky relationship with fellow council members has been well-documented.

This year, for the second straight year, McCurdy was passed over in the city’s standard mayoral rotation, in part because of his refusal to participate in the the city’s strategic planning sessions, which he felt violated the state’s open meetings law. He was also often the lone dissenting vote in matters such as tax increases and spending.

Fellow council members and residents were taken aback by the announcement.

“Oh, my God. Wow,” Councilman John Collins said Monday.

“I didn’t see it coming,” he said, expressing worry about McCurdy’s health. “I was getting concerned he wasn’t coming to a lot of things lately.”

Kim Constantine, a community activist who finished in third place in the 2016 election for two city council spots, was equally stunned, saying, “Holy moly. Oh, my gosh.”

However, although she called it a big loss, she said, “I think it was for the best. They were going to skewer him.”

According to Constantine, some in the community had criticized McCurdy for spending much of his time in Arizona, and she was relieved that McCurdy was able to leave on his own terms.”

Mayor Michael Vo, who was elevated to both mayor and mayor pro-tem over McCurdy, was less forgiving.

“I think the way he turned in his resignation is disrespectful to the people who voted for him,” Vo said. “He has not participated in many functions.”

McCurdy was popular with voters, receiving the most votes in the November 2014 election for City Council.

When McCurdy was bypassed for a second time for mayor in December, a number of residents spoke to support him.

At that time, resident Leston Trueblood called the action an “unprecedented personal vendetta and collective mission to publicly bully, shame and deny Mr. McCurdy his rotation right to be mayor of our city.”

McCurdy had one stint as mayor and believed he deserved another.

“I did an outstanding job in 2013 and I want an opportunity to do that again without being passed over,” he said in December. “I believe this happened because I have a difference of opinion.”

Greg Mellen is a freelancer and veteran award-winning reporter with more than 30 years experience at papers in California and Missouri. He previously wrote for the Orange County Register and Long Beach Register. He received his master's degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and was a faculty member and sports editor at the Columbia Missourian. In his free time he likes to read and dabble in fiction writing, which he tries to keep out of the newspaper.